NHL Roundup: Leafs Make Quite Work of Bruins

Boston — The Toronto Maple Leafs made this a lot easier for Curtis McElhinney with a quick lead. The backup goalie took care of things from there.

McElhinney stopped 38 shots, Mitchell Marner and James van Riemsdyk each had a goal and an assist and the Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins, 4-1, on Saturday night to complete a sweep of the home-and-home series.

Nearly two weeks ago in a start in Los Angeles, McElhinney gave up three first-period goals in a 5-3 loss. Toronto gave him a quick 2-0 lead this time.

“It’s always nice to get a couple of quick goals and have a lead to play with,” said McElhinney, playing just his third game this season. “I saw a lot of pucks tonight and they did a great job of tying rebounds up.”

Morgan Rielly and Patrick Marleau also scored to help the Leafs win their fourth straight one night after a 3-2 overtime victory at home over the Bruins.

“I thought we did lots of good things,” Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. “When you have the lead, you can be efficient. I thought we did a good job clogging up inside.”

Frank Vatrano had Boston’s goal and Tuukka Rask finished with 21 saves. The Bruins have lost four of five games (1-3-1).

“If you keep playing hard, good things will happen,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We can’t start feeling sorry for ourselves if it’s not going our way.”

Boston had a two-man power-play advantage for 67 seconds early in the third, but was limited to two shots on goal.

“You’ve got make better decisions and take control with it,” Bruins defenseman Torey Krug said.

Rielly then made it 3-1 by beating Rask on a shot that found its way through a group of players at 6:52 of the third. Marleau capped the scoring with an empty-netter with 1:47 to go.

Senators 4, Avalanche 3

Stockholm — Mike Hoffman scored two goals to help Ottawa beat Colorado for a sweep of their two regular-season games in Sweden.

Mark Stone and Johnny Oduya also scored for Ottawa, which trailed 3-2 after two periods. Defenseman Erik Karlsson had two assists, giving the captain 17 points in 11 games this season.

Oduya, a Stockholm native, drove a slap shot by Jonathan Bernier at 7:01 of the third, tying it at 3 and delighting the crowd of more than 13,000. Hoffman got the game-winning goal on a one-timer on a power play with 6:37 left.

Wild 1, Flyers 0

Philadelphia — Jason Zucker scored his sixth goal in three games and Devan Dubnyk made 32 saves for his second straight shutout, leading Minnesota to the victory.

Zucker has scored Minnesota’s last six goals, extending his team record when he banked in a rebound off Brian Elliott 1:06 into the third period.

Rangers 4, Oilers 2

New York — Rick Nash scored twice, leading New York to its season-high sixth straight win.

Pavel Buchnevich also scored for the Rangers, and Michael Grabner added an empty-netter with 1.4 seconds remaining. Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves, and Mats Zuccarello picked up two assists.

Blackhawks 4, Hurricanes 3 (ot)

Raleigh, n.c. — Brandon Saad scored at 1:44 of overtime, and Chicago got a sorely needed victory on the road.

Alex DeBrincat had two goals and Gustav Forsling also scored for Chicago, which trailed 3-1 after two. Anton Forsberg stopped 35 shots.

The Blackhawks had dropped five of seven.

Canadiens 2, Sabres 1 (ot)

Montreal — Max Pacioretty scored at 3:08 of overtime, sending Montreal to the win.

Pacioretty broke in alone and beat Chad Johnson with a backhand shot.

Blue Jackets 2, Red Wings 1

Detroit — Jack Johnson scored in the ninth round of the shootout, lifting Columbus to the road win.

The Blue Jackets stopped a four-game losing streak and halted Detroit’s run of shootout victories at 12.

Devils 2, Panthers 1

Newark, n.j. — Cory Schneider made 32 saves to help New Jersey stop a four-game slide.

Damon Severson and Kyle Palmieri scored for the Devils (10-4-2).

The Panthers have lost seven of 10. James Reimer made 19 stops, and Nick Bjugstad scored Florida’s lone goal.